Denver Broncos: Making the case for free agent Patrick Peterson

Denver Broncos: Case for Patrick Peterson

The juice might be worth the squeeze

At the age of 30 and with such a deep class of free agent at the cornerback position, there is a good chance that the market for veteran corners will be team-friendly.

In fact, I’d be willing to bet on that being the case.

Even though a player like Peterson has nothing to prove and has likely established himself at a certain baseline price, the Broncos had built-in AJ Bouye’s cap number of over $13 million into their initial 2021 budget so they should be able to squeeze whatever Peterson’s cap hit would be into their new budget as well.

Peterson ranked 8th in the NFL this past season in average annual salary (over $14 million per season) but will he get that again? He might still get pretty close considering the Broncos paid a 31-year-old Kareem Jackson $11 million per season on a free agent contract in 2019.

Considering how desperate the Denver Broncos are to create turnovers, Peterson at $12 million per year on a three-year contract could be worth the investment if he is able to come in and pick off three passes like he did in the 2020 season for the Cardinals.

Although he missed six games in the 2019 season due to suspension, Peterson has not missed a single game in his NFL career due to injury. That kind of availability would be welcomed in Denver with so many players on both sides of the ball suffering injuries the past couple of seasons.

If you can get a handful of turnovers and a full slate of games out of Peterson for about $12 million per season, do you pass on that just to go for a younger guy at the position?